Light in the Place of Courage
by Shara Raizel
Summary: We all know that Tai was the one that went to the digital world in the beginning while Kari is sick at home, right? Well, what if it had been the opposite and their roles were reversed?
1. Chapter 1: Before it Began

**SR**: Hey readers! I'm Shara Raizel and many of you know me for my Digimon season crossover fan fiction, but this story is a little different and is going to be focused on one single season. The first season, Digimon Adventure, to be exact. Also, I'm not writing this fic alone! Meet my partner in crime!

**APF**: Hi! I'm animepotterfan! Ok, so we all know that Tai was the one that goes to the digital world in the beginning while Kari is sick at home, right? Well, what if it had been the opposite and their roles were reversed? What would happen? read to find out!

WE DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 01 OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS! ...just this story. XD

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><p>Chapter 1: Before it Began<p>

"Open wide," Yuuko Kamiya ordered as she held a thermometer in front of her 11-year son's mouth.

"Ahh!" Tai Kamiya sighed.

Yuuko then proceeded to pop the thermometer into his mouth.

"I don't think you should go to school today," She informed him. "I don't like the sound of that cough."

"Buh mm, toode da vom vo cammin weh be handnn ouh toode!" Tai whined while trying to keep the thermometer in his mouth.

"No speaking, young man!" Mrs. Kamiya scolded him.

Beep! Beep! Beep!

"Hmm, 38.9 degrees. Definitely a fever. Well that settle's it. You're not going to school today, period. Now what were you saying?" she asked sweetly.

"I said, *cough* 'But Mom, today the form for camping will be handed out!' I can't miss it!" he cried exasperatedly.

"Don't worry about it," Yuuko Kamiya said soothingly, "The camp won't start until the end of the week. You'll be better by then. And as for the form, you can ask Kari or Sora to pick one up for you."

"I can?" he beamed.

"We'll see what the doctor says," Yuuko sighed.

"Yes!" Tai punched the air, ecstatically. Then coughed and cleared his throat.

"Kari, where are you?" Yuuko called out to her daughter.

"I'm eating breakfast Mum!" A singsong voice shouted back.

Ding-dong!

Kari rushed to the door and opened it.

"Hi Sora!" Kari greeted her brother's childhood friend.

"Hey Kari!" Sora smiled but the smile quickly vanished. "Where's Tai?"

"He's got the flu so Mom says that he's gotta stay home from school today." Kari replied, looking at Sora with her big brown eyes.

Sora sighed. She was not surprised. This happened a lot with Tai. Then Sora heard a hurried set of footsteps coming from down the hall.

"Aw man Sora! I'm sorry! *Cough* I got the flu *sneeze* and… Argh! I DON'T KNOW!" he ruffled his hair in an irritated fashion.

He stopped when he heard a chuckle that gradually turned into a laugh. Sora looked pointedly at his attire. He was wearing a soccer jersey and boxer shorts with a soccer ball pattern on it. Tai gasped, thoroughly embarrassed that he'd forgotten to put on pants and sped back down the hall. Kari also laughed when she watched her brother's antics. A few minutes later Tai came back followed by his mother.

"Good morning Sora," Mrs. Kamiya smiled.

"Good morning ma'am," Sora bowed in greeting.

"I'm afraid that Tai isn't going to school this morning," Mrs. Kamiya sighed.

"I told her that Mum," Kari said as she headed back to the kitchen to put her dishes in the sink. "I'll be back in a minute Sora."

"Take your time," Sora called after the younger girl.

"Hey Sora?" Tai said hesitantly. "Do you mind picking up a registration form for camp?"

"Sure Tai," Sora nodded. "Kari and I wouldn't want you missing out. We've got to beat Hikaru Takada's team in soccer and canoeing again this year."

Tai nodded in agreement.

"Ok, I'm ready," Kari sighed as she reentered the entryway with her school things.

"Great!" Sora smiled. "Lets get going then."

"Have a good day at school girls!" Mrs. Kamiya said as she waved them out the front door.

Tai waved goodbye as well, but didn't say anything. He suddenly felt incredibly uneasy as he watched his best friend and sister leave for school, but couldn't figure out why. It wasn't as if the two of them had made the trip without him before. Casting the feeling aside, he allowed his mom to steer him back to his room and into bed.

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><p>Kari waited patiently for Sora after school by the entrance gate to her Elementary school. She was reading the form for the summer camp that was taking place over the next few weeks after school got out on Friday. She was finally old enough to go. Tai had been going to the same summer camp with Sora for the last three years and now she could finally join them.<p>

"Hey Kari!"

Kari looked up and smiled as she watched Sora jog to meet up with her.

"Sorry I'm so late," Sora laughed. "I forgot to get a second summer camp form for Tai so I had to go back and ask my teacher for another."

"That's ok," Kari smiled kindly. "I was just looking over mine. I'm so excited! I finally get to go with you guys! I've been waiting three years for this!"

Sora smiled and took the little girls hand as they began to exit the school ground.

"Hey Sora!"

The redhead blinked and turned around to see a blue-eyed blond boy in a green sleeveless T and denim jeans.

"Oh hi!" Sora blinked. "You're in my class… Matt, right?"

"Yeah," the blond nodded, reaching for something in his backpack. "This fell out of your backpack when you stopped by your locker before leaving. Mr. Fujiyama saw and asked me to give it to you."

"Oh my gosh, thank you!" Sora gasped, taking a camp form from him. "Tai would have killed me if I'd stopped by without a form after I'd promised to get him one. Thank you so much Matt!"

"It's no problem," Matt shrugged. "I have to go this way to get home anyway, so it's not like it was out of my way."

"Are you going to the summer camp too?" Kari asked the blond.

"Huh? …Yeah," Matt nodded. "My Dad talked me into it."

"So it'll be your first time too?" Kari beamed.

Matt nodded, looking at Kari a little uncomfortably.

"I'm sorry Matt," Sora laughed, seeing his dilemma. "This is Kari Kamiya. She's Tai's little sister."

"Ah," Matt nodded. "Look, I'd better get home. I'll see you later Sora."

"Bye Matt and thanks again!" Sora said meaningfully.

Matt just raised a hand in acknowledgement as he turned a corner.

"That was nice of him," Kari smiled up at Sora.

Sora nodded.

"It was. I don't usually talk to Matt much," Sora admitted. "In class we sit on opposite sides of the room and he usually keeps to himself. I'm actually a little surprised that he's going to summer camp. He didn't strike me as the type."

"He did say his dad had talked him into it," Kari mused.

Sora smiled. It really amazed her how insightful the younger girl could be.

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><p>That was nice of Matt to help Sora, but what's this feeling of unease that Tai felt? And how will things go at summer camp? Find out next time on Digimon Digital Monsters!<p>

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><p><strong>APF<strong>: Took you long enough to send me your half and proofread version of the chapter! XD

**SR**: TTwTT ... sorry. I had my other 3 1/2 fics to work on. XD

**APF**: :P ...It turned out great though don't you think? :D

**SR**: Yeah! It's a lot shorter than I'm used to, but I think that that's a nice change of pace. Shorter chapters are easier to update more often than longer ones. ^_^

**APF**: XD

**SR**: Anyways, that's all for this chapter. Stay tuned for the next one!

**APF**: Yup! Will Tai make it to camp? In the next chapter, you'll get to find out how Tai met Sora!

**SR**: So stay tuned! And please review and tell us what you think!

**APF & SR**: Dattebayo! :D


	2. Chapter 2: How We First Met

**SR**: Hey guys! Long time no see! Sorry for the late update. I've had APF's half of the chapter for a little over a month now and have only recently edited it and written in my half...

**APF**: Yeah, you should be...= =' But I guess this is as good a time as any to update cuz your mid-term and my final is over so don't worry readers! Updates will be steadier from now... *glares at Shara* _Right_ Shara?

**SR**: ...Yes ma'am... TTwTT Updates will be posted quicker than they have been... RIGHT MATT?

**MATT**: Why am I here? =_='

**SR**: Cuz... You're giving the disclaimer.

**MATT**: Why? Are you too lazy? cuz I know I am. =_='

**APF**: Shut up pretty boy. Just go with it. Ahem... I'M FREE!I'M FREE!I'M FREE!I'M FREE!

**MATT**: *Covering his ears* Sheesh! What's wrong with this chick?

**APF**: I'M FREE! I'M FREE!

**MATT**: *takes out an oar out of nowhere and hits APF in the face*

**SR**: Hey! *tries to wake APF up* *sigh* While I wake her up, Matt, make the disclaimer.

**MATT **(grumbling): Shara Raizel and animepotterfan DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 01 OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS! ...just this story. -_-

**SR**: Enjoy and please review! :D

**APF**: XwX

**MATT**: Whatever. -_-

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><p>Chapter 2: How We First Met<p>

"He's in Tai's class, huh?" Kari asked Sora while they were walking home from school.

"Who?"

"Matt."

"Uh huh," Sora replied.

"How come you and Tai never talk about him?' Kari frowned.

"Well its like I said. Matt's a loner. He's nice, but it's just that we don't know him that well. In fact,"Sora frowned. "I don't think any of our classmates know him really well."

"Oh..."

After a few minutes of walking, Sora spotted someone at a corner.

"Hey Usui!" She waved at a handsome dark haired boy.

Sora and Kari walked over to join the boy.

"Hmm? Oh! Hey Sora. Where's Tai? I didn't see him in literature today," Usui asked.

"He caught the flu," Sora sighed gloomily.

"Yikes! Bad timing. Can he still make it to camp?" Usui asked again.

"I hope so," Sora smiled sadly until she spoted Kari looking curiously up at the boy. "Oh! Usui, This is Kari, Tai's lil' sister," Sora quickly introduced.

"Hi," Kari smiled shyly.

"So this is Tai's sister," Usui smiled back.

"You must be Usui Hatsu. Tai mentioned you a couple of times," Kari smiled.

Usui smiled widely before looking at his watch.

"Yikes! I need to go. Mom's gonna flip if I get home late again," He cried. He took off down the street, but paused to shout back at them with a mischievous smile. "Hey Sora! Tell your boyfriend that I hope he gets better!"

Sora blushed.

"Tai is NOT my boyfriend!" she cried angrily back but Usui was already long gone.

"C'mon Kari," She muttered furiously before taking off. They continued walking with Sora cursing under her breath but she eventually stopped for a stoplight at a junction. Stupid Usui. How could he say that Tai was her boyfriend? They were just really close friends. She'd known him since she was like, 5 years old…

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><p><em><strong>~Flashback Start~<strong>_

_Four-year-old Sora Takenouchi sat on the park bench glumly. There was no one  
>around for her to play with and she'd gotten tired of playing in the sandbox fifteen minutes<br>ago. There was no one but a few burly twelve-year-olds and a boy kicking a ball. Suddenly, she felt something hit her feet. The boy ran towards her to retrieve his ball._

"_Sorry," the brown mop-haired boy apologized._

"_It's OK," Sora sighed._

_The boy cocked his head and asked, "What's the matter? You look sad."_

"_Nobody wants to play with me," Sora said sadly, almost in tears._

"_I'll play with you," The boy smiled and took hold of Sora's hand._

"_Really?" Sora looked at him with hopeful eyes._

"_Sure!" The boy helped Sora up and took her to the place he had been playing. "Let's play some soccer!" The boy said, giving Sora the ball._

"_What's soccer?" Sora asked, puzzeled._

"_You don't know about soccer?" The boy asked, looking at her with incredulous eyes. "It's only the best game ever in the whole wide world! Come on! I'll teach you. I don't know much but all I know is that you kick the ball into a goal and if you get a red card you can't play and if you get a yellow card you get to kick."_

_Sora nodded. "_I think I can play that_," she thought._

"_How do you get a yellow card?" She asked._

"…_I don't know," the boy frowned and scratched his head thoughtfully._

"_Oh..." Sora blinked before smiling. He was certainly an unusual boy._

"_Come on! I'll teach you how to kick a penalty," He put the ball at his feet and kicked the ball. The ball rolled and stopped near her feet._

"_Kick it!" The boy smiled encouragingly._

"_Are you sure? I don't know how," She said doubtfully._

"_It easy! Just kick it!" He smiled. "How can you say that if you've never tried before?"_

"_Okay," she said slowly, still doubtful._

_Sora kicked the ball as hard as she could. The ball sailed smoothly across the park, over the boy's head and rolled to a stop at one of the delinquent's feet. _

"_Well, well, well. What do we have here?" the leader of the delinquents smirked at his cronies as he picked up the ball. His smirk turned into a grin when he saw Sora and the boy jogging towards them._

"_Hey Mr, that's our ball!" Sora called out to the leader._

"_Yeah!" The boy said angrily. "Give it back!"_

"_No way," the leader smirked, and his goons laughed._

_Sora got so angry and upset that she kicked the twelve-year-old's shin. Hard__**.**_

"_OW!" the delinquent howled in pain, dropping the ball in the process. _

_While the twelve-year-old's cronies gaped at the scene before them, the bushy-haired boy quickly grabbed Sora and scrambled up to the top of a high slide which was fortunately nearby._

_Sora whimpered when she reached the top of the slide._

'_We're so high up,' she desperately thought. 'It's so rusty too.' _

"_What if the slide breaks?" She whimpered._

"_Don't worry, this slide is pretty strong," the boy smiled. _

_Sora gulped in spite of the boy's words._

_The leader swore and began giving orders to his cronies. The three pre-teens began shaking the rusty slide. _

_Sora gasped when the structure started to wobble. Now she was really scared. The bolts holding the slide together started rattling. _

"_What are we gonna do?" She nearly sobbed. _

"_Don't worry," the boy said soothingly. The bolts rattled and Sora tightly closed her eyes. _

"_Ahhh!" _

_Sora's eyes snapped opened in time to see the boy falling out from the slide and land with a thump on the hard grassy ground, doubling over in pain and screaming in agony. The delinquents, wide eyed with shock, carefully took a few steps back. They'd just wanted to scare the kids. Not hurt them._

"_C'mon," The leader muttered and all three of them fled._

"_Are they gone?" The boy coughed. _

"_They are. Are you ok?" Sora whiped at the tears that had started streaming down her face._

_The boy attempted a smile. _

"_I faked the screaming but I don't think I can stand," the boy groaned._

_Sora looked around wildly and fortunately spotted a teenager nearby walking her dog whilst whistling a tune. Sora ran toward the teen, praying in her heart that she had a phone or something._

"_Please, help! Help!" She shouted breathlessly when she was a few feet away from the teen._

"_What is it?" The teen asked urgently, hearing the panic in Sora's voice._

"_My friend's hurt. Please help him!" Sora begged and tugged at the sleeve of the teen's shirt, tears streaming down her dirty face._

"_Come on," the teen took out her phone and let Sora lead the way back to the brown haired boy._

**_~The Next Day~_**

"_Mommy, are you sure it's ok?" Sora frowned. She was standing in front of a door in the hospital, one hand holding a small bouquet and a small box of chocolates in the other._

"_Yes dear," Mrs Takenouchi smiled kindly._

_Sora smiled. "Thanks momma!" _

_She gave her mother a fleeting hug before she knocked nervously on the door. No answer. She opened the door slowly and saw the browned haired boy pointing at an ABC book and talking to a small baby girl with a whistle in her mouth. _

"_P is for pencil, Q is for queen, R is for..." he was saying._

"_Rose," Sora finished quietly._

_The boy and the baby girl looked up. _

"_Hey! It's you!" The boy smiled gleefully._

"_Hi," Sora said shyly. "How're you feeling?" _

_She noticed that his arm was firmly wrapped up._

"_I'm fine," he said, holding his arm. Suddenly he blushed. "Hey...I forgot to ask you the other day… what's your name?"_

"_Oh," she blushed as well. "I'm Sora, Sora takenouchi."_

_The boy smiled, "Hi Sora! I'm Taichi Kamiya, but you can just call me Tai. This is my little sister, Hikari. You can call her Kari."_

"_Hi Kari," she smiled shyly._

_The small girl gave a small blow on the whistle and waved her small fists. Sora laughed slightly._

"_Dear?" Mrs Takenouchi opened the door. "It's getting late, you can visit again tomorrow." _

"_Bye Sora," Tai smiled. _

"_Bye-bye," Sora said, "Oh! These are for you." _

_She put the flowers on the side-table and put the chocolate in Tai's hand. Tai beamed. _

"_Thank you," He grinned._

_Sora smiled and walked across the room to the door. She closed it behind her slowly so that it wouldn't bang shut. They walked for awhile and Sora's mother saw a brown-haired lady with a ponytail._

"_Toshiko? Is that you?" the lady gasped._

"_Yuuko? It's been such a long time," Sora's mother smiled._

_The lady laughed._

"_How's Susumu?" Toshiko asked._

"_Same as usual," Miss Yuuko shrugged._

"_I'd love to catch, but I have to get going. Say hi to Susumu for me," Sora's mother smiled sadly._

_The lady nodded and walked away._

"_Mommy, do you that lady?" Sora asked, surprised._

"_Yes, that's my college roommate," Mrs Takenouchi smiled as she remembered the good old days. "She's also our neighbour."_

"_Really?" Sora's eyes went wide._

"_Yup. Her maiden name was Yuuko Tachibana, but now she's Yuuko Kamiya," her mother explained._

_Something clicked inside Sora's head. _

"_Hey mom! I just remembered something. The boy's name is Tai Kamiya!" She gasped. "So does that mean that it was his mommy we were talking to?"_

"_I suppose so," Miwako smiled._

_**~End of flashback~**_

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><p>Tai had to start wearing a black brace on his arm after that inccident, but even after the brace was no longer needed, Tai had started wearing an armband in it's place. Shortly after the incciden, Tai and Sora became inseparable. They went to the playground everyday to play soccer. Sometimes Tai brought Kari with him. As they began their schooling, they became closer than ever to the point that Sora and Tai's moms secretly began to think that they were bound to become a couple someday.<p>

"Sora, it's a green light,"Kari said to snap the older girl out of her thoughts.

"Oh, right," the older girl laugehd, taking Kari's hand and walked across the zebra crossing towards their apartment complex.

The next day Tai was feeling better and was able to go to school. The rest of the week passed by rather quickly and without inncident until Friday evening. It was the night before the day that marked the beginning of the summer holidays and in the Kamiya household Tai and Kari were getting ready for a perfectly normal summer... right?

"OK Kari, let's do a check," Tai told his little sister.

"Right," Kari smiled eagerly.

"Let's see…" Tai mused, going through a mental checklist. "Emergency rations?"

"Check!" Kari chirped.

"Hmm... Zoe?" Tai snickered, referring to the teddy bear that he had given Kari when she was three years old.

"Tai!" Kari laughed, elbowing her brother.

Tai laughed too but he suddenly started to cough. Kari ignored this simply because it was a normal occurrence, but this time the coughing didn't stop. Tai kept coughing into his hand for a good five minutes. When he finally stopped he was breathing hard, trying to force needed air into his lungs.

"Tai?" Kari whispered fearfully when he didn't regain his breath after a minute.

Tai was gasping and weezing, his face pale and flushed at the same time. He gave a pitiful cough and saliva started running from his mouth. He couldn't breath now and his face was turning blue as he clutched at his chest.

"MOM!" Kari screamed. "Tai's having an attack!"

There was the sound of something crashing to the floor in the other room as Mrs. Kamiya dropped whatever it was she was doing and charged into the room with Tai's inhaler in hand. She dropped to Tai's side and guided the inhaler into her son's mouth before she pressed the release button in time with his next attempt to draw air into his lungs. Tai coughed, gasping at the end, but clutched at the inhaler in his Mom's hand to press the button again as he took another breath. They proceeded to do this a couple more times until Tai was breathing on his own again, his air passages now cleared.

Tai just seemed to melt into his mother's arms as the effects of the attack sapped what remained of his energy.

"Susumu, take Tai while I go get the car," Yuuko Kamiya quietly told her husband who had been watching quietly from the doorway.

Susumu Kamiya only nodded as he moving further into the room to take his son from his wife. Kari remained where she was sitting, trembling as she watched her dad lifted tai effortlessly in his arms while her mom headed out the door, grabbing things as she got ready to leave the apartment. Tai had just had a major asthma attack. It had been a while since he'd had one that severe.

"Kari, Mommy and I are going to take Tai to the hospital so that the doctors can check on him ok, sweetie?" Susumu smiled sadly as he eyed his daughter. "Can you be a big girl and watch the apartment for us?"

Kari nodded.

"…He's going to be alright, isn't he Daddy?" Kari asked, tears in her eyes. "Tai's going to be better in the morning and go with me to camp… isn't he?"

"…I'm sorry Kari," he father sighed. "I don't think that Tai's in any condition to go to camp this year. You can still go with Sora tomorrow. Your mom and I'll call Sora's mom after we get Tai to the hospital. She can give you a ride to the bus tomorrow."

"…'Kay," Kari sniffed as she watched her dad take Tai away, knowing that he was right.

It didn't really hit Kari until she heard the door to the apartment shut behind her Dad. …Tai wasn't going to go to camp this year. Kari would have to attend her first summer camp without him. How had things gone so wrong? Nothing seemed to have set Tai off to have such a severe attack! No matter how much Kari thought about things, she couldn't think of what had aggravate his asthma. All he had done was laugh… Was that it? Was the laugh what had started the attack? If so then-!

Kari felt tears rushing to her eyes. She had caused Tai's attack. She'd made him laugh. It was because of her that Tai wasn't going to come with her and Sora to camp… No. She couldn't think like that. She knew deep down that it wasn't her fault… but what other explanation was there? This question plauged Kari the rest of the night as she fell asleep and even during the quiet car ride with Sora and Mrs. Takenouchi the next morning to the school where the camp buses were waiting to load the other eager campers.

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><p>How's camp going to be without Tai? Well I'll guess you'll have to find out next time on Digimon Digital Monsters!<p>

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><p><strong>SR<strong>: Well that's chapter 2! Again, sorry for the wait...

**APF**: Hope you all enjoyed it! See you all next time with chapter 3! We'll make sure not to take a whole month to update this time... RIGHT SHARA? *glares*

**SR**: TTwTT ...Yes. We'll see you all real soon! Oh! And don't forget to review! :D

**APF**: Yes please. It seems to be the only thing that motivates this lazy bum. :/

**SR**: I'm sorry! TToTT

**APF & SR**: Dattebayo! :D


	3. Chapter 3: CabinMates

**APF**: no! *hides in cemo corner, trying to advoid angry mob*

**SR**: last time we were waiting on me this time it was on you! HA! XD

**APF**: *clutches itachi plushie* at least I did a bit at tge beginning TT3TT

**SR**: Yeah but I wrote most of it. :P

**APF**: Don't remind me TTwTT

**SR**: Yeah well at least now after this chapter we can now move onto the actual story. It should be easier to write since we can use the actual episodes for references. :)

**APF**: yup! next chappie is the first episode

**SR**: but before we get to that shouldn't our patient readers actually read what's taken so long to write?

**APF**: why don't you do it while I get some cookies? *walks out sneaking away towards the kitchen*

**SR**: OK! Well readers enjoy the chapter! Hopefully updates will come a little more frequently... RIGHT APF? *glares*

**APF**: *runs into kitchen*

**SR**: Enjoy readers and just remember that neither APF or I own Digimon. APF! *chases after APF into the kitchen*

WE DO NOT OWN DIGIMON ADVENTURE 01 OR ANY OF ITS CHARACTERS! ...just this story. XD

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><p>Chapter 3: Cabin-Mates<p>

Early in the morning a minivan traveled down the streets heading for the camp bus pick-up site. Inside Mrs. Takenouchi was humming to a song on the radio while occasionally looking in the rearview mirror to watch the two girls that were sleeping peacefully in the back seat. Suddenly a cellphone rang. The two girls stirred at the sound and in response the older girl slipped her hand into her pocket and answered the phone while rubbing her eyes.

"Hello?" she answered sleepily.

"Sora?" she heard a familiar voice speak to her on the other end of the line.

"Tai?" Sora blinked, surprised at how gruff and tired her friend sounded.

"Yeah it's me. Listen… can I talk to Kari?" Tai asked.

"Sure," Sora murmured still surprised.

She moved to hand the phone to Kari but saw that the little girl had gone back to sleep.

"Kari," Sora shook the younger girl awake again.

"Huh?" Kari rubbed her eyes, but took the phone from Sora.

"Hey squirt," Tai said, a smirk evident in his voice.

"TAI!" Kari's eyes snapped open and started to water as she remembered last night.

"Sup?" Tai grinned from the other end of the line, but with a concerned edge.

"Don't worry about me," Kari blinked away her tears. "H-how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"You don't sound fine," Kari frowned.

She was not satisfied with her brother's answer. He had been practically chocking on his own breath last night for God's sake!

"I'll be fine," She heard her brother reassured her. "Always am aren't I?"

"Ok..." She said slowly.

"So, are you excited?" Her brother's voice was almost overflowing with enthusiasm.

"No. You're not here," Kari frowned and a tear slid down her face.

Silence.

"Kari," She heard her brother sigh wearily. "You shouldn't feel guilty. It just happened at the wrong time. Just a bit of bad luck on my part."

"But..." Kari spluttered.

"No buts," Tai said firmly. "You've waited years for this..." Tai's voice faltered. "Don't let me get in the way. Now you and Sora have fun Kar. If not for yourselves then have fun for me, ok?"

"Ok..." Kari said slowly.

"Great," she heard Tai say happily. "Listen Kari you're going to have a blast. Camp is great! Have a great time, make friends and come home with loads of stories to tell me alright?"

"Ok Tai," Kari smiled sadly. "But only if you get better ok?"

"Will do," Tai stated. "See ya when you get back Kar."

"Bye Tai," Kari sighed before hanging up and handing the phone back to Sora just as Mrs. Takenouchi pulled into parking lot where the camp buses were waiting to pick up the campers. When they got out, Kari and Sora soon joined the mob of excited students from their elementary school and were soon loaded up on the bus after saying good-bye to Sora's mother. As they looked for a place to sit, Kari spotted Matt at the back of the bus and dragged Sora along with her to take the seats in front of the blond boy.

"Hey Matt," Sora smiled.

"Sora. Kari," Matt nodded before frowning slightly. "Where's Tai?"

Kari ignored the question and pretended to be preoccupied with getting comfortable in her seat. Sora cast Kari a worried look before leaning over the back of her seat to whisper to Matt.

"Tai had a bad asthma attack last night," she informed him. "It really spooked Kari, and Tai really wants her to enjoy herself. Could we please not talk about it?"

Matt's eyes widened a bit at the news but nodded.

"Sure Sora… Boy that's rough," he said softly, feeling sorry for Kari.

Sora nodded before noticing the little blond boy sitting beside Matt in the window seat. He looked a lot like the older boy.

"And who's this?" Sora asked smiling in a normal tone.

Hearing the change in conversation Kari rejoined them and peeked over her seat to see whom Sora was talking about.

"Ah," Matt blinked, "This is my little brother Takeru."

"But you can call me TK," the little boy beamed.

"It's nice to meet you TK. I'm Sora. I didn't know you had a brother Matt," Sora smiled.

"Yeah well…" Matt shrugged uncomfortably.

"What's your name?" TK asked Kari.

"Kari," she answered. "Is this your first time going to summer camp too?"

"Yeah!" TK grinned. "I've always wanted to go but my Mom didn't want me to go by myself so she got Daddy to get Matt to come with me."

"So that's what you mean by you were talked into going to camp," Sora laughed at Matt.

Again Matt shrugged uncomfortably.

When the buses finally left the school Sora and Kari continued to talk excitedly about camp to TK and Matt and two and a half hours later they arrived at the campsite, feeling a little queasy because of the smoke from the bus.

"Alright kids! Listen up!" Mr. Fujiyama called out over the noise on their bus after they parked. "For those of you who don't know me, I'm Mr. Fujiyama and I'm going to be one of your camp supervisors. Once you get off this bus and retrieve your luggage head on over to the registration cabin just over there. You can see it from here and can't miss it. There is a bulletin board there with a list of your names and of the cabins. After you find your name on the list and what cabin you're in head to that cabin and check in with you're councilor. They'll tell you where to put your stuff and give you a tour of the camp. You can give any letters you want to send home to me. Any questions? No? Well then, have fun and see ya around camp!"

Sora, Kari, Matt and TK were the last ones to get off the bus and took their time to get over to the cabin assignment board so that the crowd around it could thin a little. Sora and Matt left TK and Kari with the luggage while they went to see what cabins they would be staying in.

"TK, we're in cabin eight," Matt informed his little brother when he returned.

"Kari and I are in cabin eight also," Sora grinned.

"Really?" TK and Kari exclaimed excitedly, giving each other high-fives, happy to be staying in the same cabin with their new friends.

"Didn't realize that these cabins were mixed," Matt frowned.

"You're not shy are you Matt?" Sora teased the blond slightly.

"Nah," Matt shook his head with a small smile with a pink tinge on his cheeks. "Just didn't expect mixed cabins."

Sora shrugged. The camp cabins were usually distributed evenly so that there'd be four boys and four girls in each cabin.

"The cabins are sectioned," Sora explained. "Boy's half and girl's half."

"Whatever," Matt shrugged and picked up his and TK's luggage and soon the four of them were off to cabin eight to meet their other cabin-mates. When they got there, there was a boy with navy blue hair and large framed glasses outside their cabin looking at a clipboard nervously, clicking the pen he was holding furiously.

"Hi!" Sora smiled. "I'm Sora Takenouchi, and this is Kari Kamiya, Matt-!"

"Ishida and Takeru Takaishi," Matt finished for her.

Sora blinked surprised at hearing that the brothers had two last names.

"Ah!" the older boy nodded, checking something off on the clipboard before frowning. "Right… no Tai Kamiya?"

"My brother couldn't make it," Kari mumbled.

"Sorry," the older boy stammered guiltily before waving his hand to indicate the cabin behind him. "Well then you're the last to arrive. Girls' half of the cabin is on the left and boys' on the right. Oh! My name's Joe Kido by the way. I'm… well you're cabin councilor I guess."

"Guess?" Matt raised an eyebrow, scoffing.

"Yeah…" Joe laughed nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Jason, who was supposed to be you're counselor caught the flu bug that's been going around and they called me in at the last minute to substitute for him. Good thing he's tutoring me or I wouldn't dream of doing this." He explained.

Matt nodded in understanding.

"Thank you, Joe," Sora smiled before pulling Kari along behind her into the cabin and taking the door on the left. Inside was another girl in a pink cowgirl dress with a pink cowgirl hat hanging down her back from around her neck. She was really pretty looking with her amber eyes and silky looking caramel colored hair that she was tying up in a ponytail.

"Oh this is a nightmare," the girl huffed as she kicked aside her suitcase. "This humidity is already doing major damage to my hair! Oh I knew that I should have gone to cheerleading camp, but no! My friends wanted to come to this camp and we didn't even get in the same cabin! My poor hair…"

"Oh boy," Sora muttered under her breath, facepalming and making Kari giggle.

"Oh hello," the pretty girl giggled when she realized that she was no longer alone. "I'm Mimi. Mimi Tachikawa."

"Sora Takenouchi," Sora nodded in greeting.

"And I'm Kari Kamiya," Kari smiled.

"Kamiya…" Mimi pouted, tapping a manicured finger to her lips. "Oh! You wouldn't happen to be related to a Tai Kamiya would you?"

"He's my older brother," Kari smiled.

"You know Tai?" Sora asked frowning.

"Of course!" Mimi blinked looking scandalized. "Who at our school in the third through sixth grades wouldn't know who he is? He's only one of the best soccer players our school's had in like forever! Oh! I know you too! You're on the soccer as well aren't you? I didn't recognize you with that hat on."

Sora blushed a little.

"And how do you know that?" Kari asked.

"I'm on the cheer squad," Mimi shrugged as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "I know about all the good players because I have to go to all the games and I know that Sora and Tai are the best players we've got." She gave Sora a victory sign.

'_Ok, maybe she's not so bad, a bit too random and preppy though_' Sora mused to herself.

"Is Tai here?" Mimi asked Kari.

"No," Kari shook her head. "He…he's sick."

"Oh that's too bad," Mimi smiled sadly. "Oh! I know! Lets go meet the rest of our cabin mates." Trying to lighten Kari's mood.

Sora and Kari quickly deposited their luggage on their beds and followed the pink clad girl out into the main cabin area where Joe, Matt, TK, and a short boy with a frizzy head of rustic red hair were gathered. The unknown boy was sitting apart from the other three boys and was typing away at his laptop computer. Sora recognized it as one of the newer Pineapple models.

"Oh so you're in this cabin too Izzy?" Mimi asked the boy.

"Yeah," he nodded, not taking his eyes off his laptop.

"Well now that we're all here," Joe coughed, "Why don't we go around and introduce ourselves saying our names, ages and what grade we're in before we tour the camp grounds? Umm… I'm Joe Kido, I'm twelve, and in the sixth grade."

"I'll go next!" TK grinned, raising his although they're in class. "I'm TK Takaishi and I'm eight years old and in the second grade."

"Hi yall!" Mimi smiled brightly. "I'm Mimi Tachikawa, ten years old and in the fourth grade."

"Matt Ishida, eleven, grade five," Matt shrugged, not very interested.

"Well I'm Sora Takenouchi," Sora smiled, "and I'm also eleven years old and in the fifth grade."

"Hi, I'm Kari Kamiya and I'm seven years old and in the second grade, but I'll be turning eight in September," Kari smiled.

Everyone now looked at the boy Mimi had called Izzy. Sensing this, the boy sighed, finally shut his laptop and introduced himself.

"…I'm Koushiro Izumi, but everyone just calls me Izzy," the boy stated blankly. "I'm in the fourth grade and just turned ten."

"Well!" Joe smiled. "Now that we've all been introduced why don't I show you around the camp?"

"OK!" TK and Kari smiled while Sora and Mimi nodded with smiles and Matt and Izzy just shrugged as they all followed Joe.

* * *

><p>So things seem to be off to a great start at camp, but how long will that last? Find out what happens next time on Digimon Digital Monsters!<p>

* * *

><p><strong>SR<strong>: *drags APF from kitchen* hope yall enjoyed the chapter

**APF**: no! DX

**SR**: quite whining. now when will you start writing your half of the next chapter?

**APF**: eeeep! *breaks free and poofs into a cloud of smoke, revealing a white bunny*

**SR**: APF! You will get working on the next chapter soon now you hear me?

**APF**: well bye!

**SR**: Oh fine. We'll try to update sooner readers. Till next time!

**APF & SR**: Dattebayo! :D


	4. Sorry, NOT an Update

Sorry guys, this is not an update. I'm sad to say that due to loosing contact with my co-writer I cannot and do not plan on continuing this fic. I had agreed to be this story's co-writer and to post it on my account, but since I haven't heard from animepotterfan who came up with this story's premise in over two years, I have no intention of continuing writing this. I have so many other stories I am currently working on and want to write but I'm afraid that this is not going to be one of them. If any one wants to adopt this fic or take animepotterfan's place as co-writer in order to continue it with me, please message me! It's not that I don't love the idea (cuz I DO. I agreed to co-write this, didn't I?), it's just that this was not one of my own ideas and animepotterfan was the driving force behind the ideas for this.

Again, I'm sorry, but unless someone wants to adopt this fic, or volunteer to be co-writer… this fic is not going anywhere or continuing. Sorry. I'll keep this up, in case I get another co-writer (hopefully one who isn't as busy and is more motivated than I am) to continue writing this fic. I'll let ya know if that happens, but if not, then this is the end of Light in the Place of Courage.


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